Print
Race Ends for McMaster Solar Car Team
October 30, 2009
McMaster’s solar car, Phoenix II, crossed the finish line at the World Solar Challenge today to finish the race in 22nd place (unofficial). While the team was thrilled to reach Adelaide and to have participated in the race they were disappointed that a mechanical failure forced them to trailer the car for the second half.
Things started off well for the team on the grueling 3,000 km journey from Darwin to Adelaide. The car reached Australia undamaged after six weeks on a ship. The first round of pre-race scrutineering drew compliments from race scrutineers. Even an electrical fire during speed trials that damaged the solar array couldn’t stop them. They qualified 16th out of 24 teams in the Challenge Class.
The five-day race started Sunday, October 25 and things went well for the team. They stopped for the night in 18th place. The tough race conditions, combined with the array damage, began to impair the car’s power efficiency. The team struggled through day three but then things unraveled. The right wheel, one of the few off-the-shelf components in the car, collapsed during the race breaking the rim and sending the car fishtailing down the highway. No one was hurt but the damage to the car was too extensive to repair and safely continue the race.
The team loaded the car on the trailer and continued to Adelaide. According to race rules, the team was credited for the kilometers they had completed under solar power.
The team will take a couple of days to pack up the car and ship it back to Canada. They expect to all be back on campus by November 9.
Congratulations to the McMaster Solar Car team for representing McMaster University at the World Solar Challenge for the first time.
Read more about the team and their race at: www.solarcar.mcmaster.ca
For official race results and information visit: http://globalgreenchallenge.com.au
